The word “diet” can contain a positive or negative connotation depending on who you are. On one hand, you have people who diet in order to keep their bodies in shape and maintain their health. On the other hand, you have people who, despite the fact that they love the food they eat, struggle to search for ways to lose weight. Many people from both sides of the issue are in a never-ending search for the “best” diet out there. After an exhausting search for diets and routines that never seem to work and/or have no real scientific merit, they give up on trying.

The ketogenic (keto) diet is a diet that has recently taken America by storm. Its scientific strategies have proved to be highly effective for many people, including some famous athletes such as LeBron James. James is considered by many to be the best athlete in the world due to his unheard-of size, strength, speed and endurance. This can be partially attributed to the fact that he eats a high amount of fats and and a very low amount of carbs which is the basis of the keto diet.

So how does it work? When you eat carbs, your body converts those carbs into glucose (sugar) which is one of the two sources of energy in your body. When the body senses glucose, insulin is produced in order to move the glucose into your cells for immediate use for energy or if not immediately used, stored as fat.

In the keto diet, your carb intake is extremely low and your intake of fats is high. When there are no carbs to convert into energy, your body has to resort to another natural source of energy called ketone bodies in order to provide energy and keep your body functioning properly. That’s where the fats come into play.

Before we discuss how fats aid in weight loss, we have to get one thing straight: fats get a bad reputation. Many people believe that eating fats is a direct cause of gaining weight. On the contrary, fats that are stored in your body by eating sugar and complex carbohydrates are what makes you store fat and become obese. By eating a higher amount of the right kinds of healthy fats along with a reduced amount of healthy carbs (such as green leafy vegetables) and a moderate amount of protein, the body actually resorts to the fats that are stored in your body as a source of energy.

As a result, the amount of fat on your body begins to decrease and your body releases hormones such as the Human Growth Hormone (HGH) which can have many positive benefits if it is naturally induced rather than synthetically injected.

Some of the positive benefits of the keto diet include, but are not limited to, a clearer mind, a better mood, better sleep, satiety, fat loss, better skin, increased strength, stronger bones and a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes.

Despite the many benefits of the keto diet, there are a few negatives. One negative is that you may experience some fatigue, headache and/or nausea as your body transitions into ketosis (the fat-burning mode). However, most complications that occur are very short term and may be due to previously acquired medical conditions that are due to a lack of proper nutrition associated with eating unhealthy high carbohydrates such as sugar, bread, rice and pasta. If previous medical conditions exist, it is highly recommended that you talk with your doctor before starting this diet.

Numerous lives have been changed by this diet and it has shown major results in a vast amount of people. People who have partaken in this diet claim that it helps lose weight, gain energy and improve their health and overall quality of life like no other recent diet has done.